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Rita Morgan
Rita Bennett (later Rita Morgan) is a character in DEXTER and she was a major part of the cast for Seasons 1 through 4. She was Dexter Morgan's wife and the mother of Harrison Morgan, Astor Bennett, and Cody Bennett. Rita often played the role of a concerned mother that came from a damaged relationship and even started somewhat of her own subplot. While generally in the first season she is overly happy with Dexter, after a bad situation involving Lila West both she and Dexter grew apart and back together, but never fully healed after that. She often became strict and untrusting of his behavior, while before she paid it no mind. Rita interacted with each of the Main Antagonists in some way, For Brian Moser, she accompanied him and deb when visiting the home of Brian and Dexters dead father. For Lila West, it was a struggling relationship with Dexter and trying to figure out why he was going for this lady. For Miguel Prado, it was what sort of a "husband's best bud" interaction where she spent a lot of time with Miguel's wife. And for Arthur Mitchell, it was merely her being killed by him that resulted in that interaction. Early Life Rita got married for the first time when she was 16. Later, she lived in Miami with her two children from her second marriage, Astor and Cody. Her abusive ex-husband, Paul, was arrested by Debra Morgan during a domestic disturbance call, prompting Debra to introduce her to Dexter. Personality Due to her violent past, Rita initially had very little interest in sex, which worked well for Dexter, who considered himself emotionally removed from humanity. Dexter said he feels Rita is a perfect girlfriend because she is "in her own way, as damaged as I am." Rita had no idea that Dexter is secretly a serial killer, and is in fact delighted with how great he seems to be with the children, and how much they seem to love Dexter. Rita begins to grow more confident in herself and, thus, her sexual appetite toward Dexter grows. =History= =Plot= Season One In Season 1, Rita is portrayed as a mother of two who is slowly recovering from being abused by her (eventual) ex-husband, Paul. Dexter was originally introduced to her by Debra, who responded to the domestic violence call and saved her life. Dexter originally stayed with her to maintain his cover while being a serial killer (in his own words, Dexter stated he "chose Rita because she's as damaged as I am", and so briefly feared that if she got better, he'd lose her). Nevertheless, Rita tentatively started a real relationship with Dexter, while remaining unaware of how he spends all of his free time. Her past abuse made her temporarily uninterested in sex, she had fucked dexter and is father in the hole . Eventually their relationship was consummated. Rita stood up to Paul by demanding he sign the divorce papers he refused in prison and she offers supervised weekly visits. He at first tries to intimidate her, but signs them when she does not back down. Paul comes into the house drunk one night, and Rita reluctantly lets him in. He wrestles her on her bed and she successfully knocks him out with a baseball bat.[1] He then sues her for custody of the kids. Dexter takes it into his own hands by knocking him out and making it appear Paul had taken illegal drugs again, and he is sent back to prison.[2] Paul pleads with her in prison not to let Dexter near their children, claiming that Dexter had framed him, but she brushes him off. She later finds Paul's shoe outside of her house—just where he said it ended up after Dexter knocked him out. Season Two Rita's relationship with Dexter becomes troubled. After discovering what Dexter did to Paul, she suspects that Dexter owned the drugs Paul was injected with. Dexter allows her to think he is an addict, as it is better than saying he is a serial killer. She pushes him into Narcotics Anonymous and threatens to leave him when he expresses reluctance. Although he begins to work through the program, Rita suspects (incorrectly) he is having an affair with his sponsor, Lila, and breaks up with him. In anguish, Dexter then turns to Lila, and consummates what had before been (on his part, at least) a platonic relationship. When Rita tries to reconcile with Dexter, she learns that the relationship was now a romantic and sexual one. Rita makes the break official, although her children still try to maintain a relationship with Dexter. After Dexter lies to Lila about working late (he had gone to kill Jimenez), Lila breaks into Rita's house, afraid that they had rekindled their relationship. Angered, Dexter breaks up with her. The next day, Dexter apologized to Rita for his infidelity, saying that Lila is one of his biggest mistakes. Later, she calls him and states she wants him back, due to her "feelings for him". His breakup with Lila, his love for Rita and her children, and his sincere regret over what he had done convinces Rita to start dating him again. By the last episode of Season 2, their relationship is back on solid ground.[4] Season Three Rita is enjoying her relationship with Dexter once again, and then suddenly discovers, unexpectedly, that she is pregnant with Dexter's baby (later revealed to be a boy). Knowing that being a single parent was one of her few achievements, Rita decided to keep the baby, and left Dexter's role in the child's life entirely up to him. After much deliberation, Dexter decided (with the help of Debra and an ensuing punch) that he'll be there for the child and Rita eventually accepts his marriage proposal. Rita lost her job when she was rude to a customer, but got back on her feet by being hired by Sylvia Prado, her friend, as her assistant. We have not seen her actually go to work in her new position however, so it is possible that she has now let Dexter financially take care of her and the three children. In the Season 3 finale, Dexter discovered that Rita was briefly married when she was sixteen, something she never told him. She also lied outright when he subtly asked her about it. After some reflection, he decided to let Rita keep her secrets as he would be keeping his own. Season Four After the baby (named Harrison after Dexter's father) is born, Rita and Dexter move in together to a house in the suburbs. Rita begins to notice a pattern of lies by Dexter, including lying about the concussion he suffered in the car accident, how serious the accident was, and the fact that he kept his old apartment. Rita and Dexter then go to a marriage counselor, who sorts out their problems and puts peace between them. However, their neighbor, Elliot, begins to fall for Rita, kissing her and pointing out that Dexter is never home. Though she initially kisses him back, she quickly ends it before something begins. She eventually admits this to Dexter, and is disappointed by his apparent indifference. She is later pleased when she sees him punch Elliot over it. In the Season 4 finale, Dexter pursues the Trinity Killer and sideswipes another car. After an argument with the person who owned the damaged car, Dexter is arrested for assaulting the policeman who arrived at the scene. Rita goes to the police precinct to pick Dexter up and he apologizes to Rita for losing control of the situation. Rita tells Dexter that he is an integral part of her family and she would be crushed if he went away. Dexter discusses his demons but she assures him that because she loves him any demons that he has can be conquered. Dexter begs Rita to leave early for their honeymoon, to which she finally agrees. Later, after finally murdering Trinity, Dexter returns home to find a voicemail from Rita, who tells him she left her ID at home, and would take a later flight after going back to pick it up. Dexter calls Rita's phone and is shocked when it rings from inside her purse on the table. He hears his son Harrison crying, and finds the baby in a pool of blood and Rita's lifeless body in a blood-filled bathtub, the apparent last murder of the Trinity Killer. He appears to be genuinely devastated by her death, flashing back to his own childhood trauma, before he picks Harrison up and carries him away. Exactly like Harry did with Dexter. Relationship with Paul Bennett When Paul is released from jail and tries to make himself part of his children's lives, she fears he will go back to his abusive ways. One night, a drunken Paul attacks her and Rita defends herself by clubbing him over the head with a baseball bat. Unfortunately, Paul makes a convincing case that he was victimized by Rita, and sues for sole custody of Astor and Cody. Unbeknownst to Rita, Dexter knocks Paul out and frames him, making it appear he has relapsed into drugs and calls the police. Paul tries to convince Rita that she and the children are not safe around Dexter, who he suspects to have dragged him from the house and set him up. Rita initially does not believe Paul, but when she finds his shoe in her yard, which at least partially corroborates his story, she begins to become suspicious of Dexter. Death She was found dead in the bathtub soaking in her own blood just like many victims of Arthur Mitchell. It was heavily implied that it was Arthur who murdered her, and it was revealed in an interview after the season finale that this was the case. She had forgotten her Identification at home before she left for the airport and Arthur Mitchell killed her when she returned. Dexter killed him some time afterward, before he even knew that Rita was dead.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsNiCF1v_2k&NR=1 In the novels In the book series, Dexter's "love" for Rita seems less sincere than it does in the television series; he only considers her a part of his disguise. They are, by a humorous misunderstanding, engaged in Dearly Devoted Dexter and married at the end of Dexter in the Dark. In the TV series, it is explicitly said that Debra introduced them (after responding to the domestic dispute call) hoping they would start dating, while it is never said in the books how they met. In the books, Rita is also something of an exercise fanatic; she and Dexter regularly go for 5k runs, long bike rides, or weightlifting sessions together. Unlike the TV series in the books Rita is not dead, and in the fifth book, Dexter is Delicious, Rita gives birth to a girl, Lily Anne. Notes * Dexter was Rita's third husband. =References= Category:Characters Category:Season 1 characters Category:Season 2 characters Category:Season 3 characters Category:Season 4 characters Category:Main characters Category:Characters from the dexter book series Category:Season 5 characters